Dye (染料) can bring a little color to life. Most clothing is colored with dyes. Modern, manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. So this week, we describe a natural way to dye wool.

There are several methods to put dye onto material. The vat method, for example, can be used to dye wool with onionskins. For this example, use one hundred grams of natural wool. The wool must be clean. Leave it overnight in water and liquid soap. Then wash it with clean water that is a little warm. Gently squeeze out the extra water.

A solution called a mordant (媒染) is used in the dying process. A mordant helps fix the dye to the material. Traditionally, mordants were found in nature. Wool ash is one example. But chemical mordants such as alum are popular today. Alum is sold in many stores. It is often mixed with cream of tartar, a fine powder commonly used in cooking.

Mix eight grams of alum with seven grams of cream of tartar in a small amount of hot water. Add the solution to a metal pan of cool water. Next, add the wool and place the mixture over heat. Slowly bring the liquid to eighty-two degrees Celsius. Heat the mixture for forty-five minutes. After it cools, remove the wool and wash it.

To prepare the dye solution, cover thirty grams of onionskins with water. Use only the dry, brown outer skins. Boil the liquid until the onionskins lose their color, about forty-five minutes. Remove the skins after the dye cools.

Now it is time to dye the wool. Place the wool into the dye and heat the mixture. Bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to eighty-two degrees. Now heat the dye for about forty-five minutes or until the wool is the desired color. Keep in mind that wet wool looks darker than it is.

Once the dye cools, remove the wool and wash it. Now the wool is orange or yellow. Or at least it should be.

57. According to the passage, mordants are ________.

A. dyes used in the dying process

B. materials which will be put dye to

C. wood ashes used in the dying process

D. not dyes but play an important role in the dying process

58. Which of the following statements about “natural dyes” is true?

A. They might be cheaper than chemical dyes.

B. They are more expensive than chemical dyes.

C. They have been used for only recent years.

D. They are all made from animal products.

59. As for the vat method, which of the following statements is NOT necessarily needed?

A. Ash.                B. Water.           C. Mordant.              D. Temperature.

60. Choose the proper order of dying wool:

a. boil the liquid with onionskins.

b. add mordants to a metal pan of cool water.

c. wash the wool with clean water.

d. put the wool into the liquid and heat it

e. heat the mixture and then wash it.

A. c, b, e, a, d        B. e, b, c, d, a     C. b, e, a, d, c              D. a, b, e, c, d

 

In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.C. ,the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei than ever. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance.

At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to use for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counselor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all. It is just because they are afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of Qin, but it will never stop attacking us until our land is totally given away."

He added." Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. Isn't it similar to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"

Though Sue Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. As might be expected, the Qin army attacked the State of Wei in 225 B.C. Again, surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes(堤防) of the Huanghe River. The State of Wei was finally destroyed.

1.When asked how to defeat the Qin army, most officials               .

    A.were scared and at a loss what to do

    B.were worried and asked Su Dai fir advice

    C.decided to ask a force to bear down upon the border

    D.trembled and decided to give up fighting back

2.The underlined phrase "sue for" in Paragraph 2 probably means               .

    A.hope for        B.beg for       C.search for     D.send for

3.Su Dai used the example of "carrying faggots to put out a fire" to show              .

    A.the ambition of the State of Qin                   B.the risk of fighting back

    C.the serious results of giving in                   D.the terrible results of defense

4.The story is mainly developed by         .

    A.time           B.logic          C.space        D.cause and effect

 

Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap(水龙头)?

In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries(日用杂货).When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them.In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year.

But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment.In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months.

So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true.In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe.There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water.

People love the convenience of bottled water.But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic.

Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help.Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing.Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled.The rest make it to landfills(垃圾填坦场) or end as trash in other places.Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate.

Water is important for you, so keep drinking it.But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change.

And yes, you can make a difference.Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours.

1.How many cars can be kept going for a year by the crude oil used to make 29 billion bottles?

A.100.

B.I,000.

C.100,000.

D.I,000,000.

2.Why do Americans prefer bottled water?

A.Bottled water is better than water from the tap.

B.Bottled water is cheaper than water from the tap.

C.Bottled water contains beneficial chemicals in it.

D.Bottled water is more convenient than water from the tap.

3.What does the underlined word "disintegrate" in the fifth paragraph probably mean^

A.Be well recycled.

B.Become less poisonous.

C.Break into small pieces.

D.Go down below a surface.

4.The author's intention of writing this passage is to recommend Americans

A.drink more water from the tap

B.send plastic bottles to landfills.

C.use water bottles to power light bulbs

D.buy bottles filled with water from the tap

 

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